Week 6

Gabriela Garcia-Mejia

Section A03

Week 6

Most of the readings this week discuss the imposed western views on mental illness and the stigmatization among Asian Americans. Ethan Watters’ piece titled The Americanization of Mental Illness stood out to me because it provided a nontraditional view on the western approach to mental health and how even though the purpose of it is to help it actually can end up doing more damage. Watters mentioned a study that was done where people had to teach someone else a learning task. That person stated that they had a mental illness. Some said that it was due to a chemical imbalance and others said that it was due to something that happened in their childhood. Those that said it was due to an event that occurred as a kid received lighter shocks than the other group. This showed that there is a negative impact from the western view. I think this goes back to the fact that American society is very individualistic and therefore if someone has a mental condition we are quick to assume that it was because of something in their brain that “snapped” it causes people to become less empathetic and even isolate the person.

I really connected to his description on the views on schizophrenia by people in developed vs. underdeveloped nations because my cousin in Mexico has schizophrenia. She was diagnosed over 10 years ago so it was not something that was as well-known or talked about at that time. When she started exhibiting odd behavior I remember my mom telling my aunt that maybe she was stressed and maybe it was due to all that emotions she had bottled up over the years because she had lived a troubled childhood. At one point they even suggested taking her to a shaman for a cleanse. Overall I think that the strong and unconditional familial support that she received allowed her to receive the medical help necessary and she went on to finish her degree.

Mental well-being is a balance between mind, body and spirit and I think that to undermine the emotional and cultural aspect of someone’s mental health is to undermine them as a person.

Question: Why do we feel entitled to push our Western views onto others yet we aren’t willing to understand other cultures’ views on mental health?

Resources:

Watters, E. (2010, January 8). The Americanization of Mental Illness. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/magazine/10psyche-t.html

[Photograph found in SchizLife]. (2016, December 21). Retrieved May 5, 2017, from http://www.schizlife.com/schizophrenia-overview/